UIGEA Going into Effect
November 7, 2009
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, is officially going into effect in a few days and players don’t know if this is going to affect them or not. The fact of the matter is that many players have been playing under the law of the UIGEA, but it has not really affected them because they were not among those with online gambling accounts that had been frozen.
But as soon as the UIGEA’s regulations are put forth and are enforced, the online gambling community is actually going to see a much bigger deal made for them as the processing of payments will officially be illegal. The banks are now responsible for ensuring that no online gambling payments get past them, and trust us, they will be diligent about it. They know that if they allow those online gambling transactions to get past them that they are now liable, so the days of them turning a blind eye to them are over.
Now, as of now no one has actually been indicted by the US Department of Justice for having an online gambling account. However, that could all change with the implementation of these new laws. It is going to be tough for the banks to be enforcers, and there are bound to be some online gambling transactions that slip through – but probably not a whole lot.
The banks are fighting to have the implementation of the regulations pushed back a year as they are hoping that online gambling will be legalized by then – thus making their lives significantly easier than they are about to become.
